Venice is becoming more of a draw.
The audience at the Venice Film Festival was up 11% after six days of the 11-day event with attendance at screenings reaching 105,000, up from 94,000 in 2018, and from 80,000 in 2017 during the same period of time.
The figures were announced on Tuesday by Paolo Baratta, president fest parent organization the Venice Biennale, who also underlined that over the past four years the youth audience segment on the Lido has grown fourfold to 1,600 as indicated by student accreditations.
Speaking at a lunch for the Italian press, Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera said he was unsure whether the uptick at Venice will in any way be reflected in the country’s box office, which has been in a downturn, especially when it comes to art titles.
But, amid ongoing controversy regarding Venice playing host to Netflix, he went on to note that “we help youths understand the importance of the experience of seeing a movie in a theater.”
The audience in Venice this year is made up roughly 60% by pass-holders and 40% by ticket holders.
Barbera, who has come under fire for having just two films directed by women in the 21-title competition, also pointed out that when it comes to accreditations the fest has already achieved 50/50 parity.
The 76th edition of the fest ends on September 7.